Draper Alan

Soft-spoken yet magnetic, Bob Moses became revered within the civil rights movement for his humility, courage, and unparalleled organizing talents. Moses's organizing skills produced results that retained the commitment of embattled local people and sustained Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee staff morale. But this came at the expense of developing local leadership. Challenging entrenched accounts, Alan Draper reveals that Moses could pursue either "Freedom Now" or develop local leaders, but not both. Rich with new details, Dignity follows Bob Moses from his early years through his death in 2021, presenting a clear-eyed view of his personality and achievements. Draper describes how Moses pursued Black voter registration in Mississippi and then in a second career devoted himself to math education. Just as dignity for Blacks in the twentieth century required voting rights, so did Moses believe that dignity for Blacks in the next century required math skills.

Soft-spoken yet magnetic, Bob Moses became revered within the civil rights movement for his humility, courage, and unparalleled organizing talents. Moses's organizing skills produced results that retained the commitment of embattled local people and sustained Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee staff morale. But this came at the expense of developing local leadership. Challenging entrenched accounts, Alan Draper reveals that Moses could pursue either "Freedom Now" or develop local leaders, but not both. Rich with new details, Dignity follows Bob Moses from his early years through his death in 2021, presenting a clear-eyed view of his personality and achievements. Draper describes how Moses pursued Black voter registration in Mississippi and then in a second career devoted himself to math education. Just as dignity for Blacks in the twentieth century required voting rights, so did Moses believe that dignity for Blacks in the next century required math skills.

This brief introduction to American government highlights the ongoing tension between capitalism and democracy. With recent political conflict over issues such as how to rein in Wall Street, expand access to health care, put Americans back to work, and plan for an increasingly globalized future, the time is ripe for a new edition of The Politics of Power.

On the basis of extensive archival research, Alan Draper illuminates the role organized labor played in the southern civil rights movement. He documents the substantial support the AFL-CIO and its southern state councils gave to the struggle for black equality, suggesting that labor's political leadership recognized an opportunity in the civil rights movement. Frustrated in their efforts to organize the South, labor leaders understood the potential of newly enfranchised blacks to challenge conservative southern Democrats. At the same time, white union members in the South were more interested in defending their racial privileges than in allying themselves with blacks. An explosive tension developed between labor's political leadership, desperate to create a party system in the South that included blacks, and a rank and file determined to preserve southern Democracy by excluding blacks. This book looks at the ways that tension was expressed and ultimately resolved within the southern labor movement.